


Saving the Universe for Dummies

by croniclegacy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Hunk (Voltron), Altean Keith (Voltron), Altean Lance (Voltron), Altean Pidge | Katie Holt, Altean Shiro (Voltron), Everyone is Altean, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 13:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10105190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/croniclegacy/pseuds/croniclegacy
Summary: Planet Altea: Fourth planet in the Horak System. Boasts an atmosphere rich in nitrogen and oxygen, rolling fields of green and abundant water. Capable of sustaining most carbon-based lifeforms in the Universe.(See also: Altean people, Voltron)





	

_Location: Guria System, Borgha Galaxy  
Time: 12:37 Altean Standard Time_

Lesson 1: Never underestimate the Yarxia.

Records show that they are the sort to shoot first, ask questions later. Records also show that their military is rather pathetic, especially in comparison to the Altean Sky Guard. In theory, a quick recon mission to their planetary neighborhood should’ve gone without a hitch. Keyword: In theory.

Keith grits his teeth, blasting his way through the crowd of enemy fighter jets. Each fallen craft is promptly replaced by five more. Fortunately for Keith, Altean engineers are quite the competent bunch, capable of designing the sturdiest crafts in this side of the universe. As good as they are, however, the craft won’t last forever, especially not when in the receiving end of countless laser beams and bombs.

The craft shakes, sirens blare. Screens pop up on the dashboard, sending out status reports and pointing out what exactly is damaged. Nothing vital, but he’ll have to be extra careful from now on. He growls irately and tightens his grip on the handles.

As he maneuvers through more beams, his intercom sparks to life and an additional screen appears on the dashboard. Shiro’s brows are knit in concentration, but he doesn’t seem to be struggling as much as Keith.

“How’s it going?”

“Not well. How’s the _Alden_ doing?”

“Under heavy fire. I’ve got a fleet protecting it but I don’t think it’ll last for very long.” Shiro then pauses for a moment, “I have a feeling drones are piloting the jets, which adds to their numbers.”

Keith hums in acknowledgement, but doesn’t respond.

“In other words, there has to be something in the main ship controlling them.”

Something clicks in his head. Keith’s gaze flickers over to Shiro before returning to the enemy jets, “So you’re saying someone should sneak into the base to disable them.”

“I’m saying that _you_ should sneak into the base to disable them. I told Lance to assist you, just in case something goes wrong.”

“Uh... okay, sure. Only if I manage to get these pieces of _quiznak_ off my back.”

“Consider that done.”

Almost as if on cue, there are giant bursts of light behind him, effectively getting rid of a third of the enemies and opening a wide enough path for Keith to escape. His lips curl upwards as he speeds on, shooting down any craft that comes within range.

“Thanks!”

The main ship is large and imposing, even as it spews out a ridiculous amount of fighter jets. If there’s one thing he’s discovered about the Yarxia, it’s that they don’t do anything halfway.  And of course, with his own craft being so close to the ship, several Yarxia fighters lock down on him, determined to take him out by any means necessary. Their tenacity is admirable, but not enough to slow Keith down. As he’s dodging laser beams and bombs, red warning lights flashing in the cockpit, he establishes a connection with the nearest Altean craft.

Lance’s brows are furrowed in concentration, but his lips are curled up ever so slightly.

“I’ll land a few feet away from the cockpit. Meet you there.” And just like that, Keith ends the connection and devotes his full energy to reach the ship without attracting too many enemies. His craft is on the verge of collapsing when he lands roughly.

The amount of shots has now decreased substantially. His craft serves as a good enough shield as he carves an entrance with his plasma sword, glowing in the telltale Altean blue. Another craft—Lance’s, he assumes—lands a couple of feet away from him, and the owner is now running towards him at full speed.

“Hurry!” But that ends up being unnecessary, because by the time Lance reaches him, he’s already in and knocking out the sentry that wasn’t crushed by the roof.

The halls are long and winding, reminiscent of those in Galra ships. With that working in their favor, they manage to find the control room with stunning ease and very little resistance. Suspicion curls in Keith’s stomach and his grip on his sword’s hilt tightens.

“ _Quiznak_ , I can’t force the system to shut down manually.”

Keith abandons position by the door to kneel next to Lance and peers down at the screen. A blank space stares back at them, requesting the password to be entered.

“You’ve got to be kidding…” Keith mutters, “Try 007364.”

Lance pinches his brows as he punches in the numbers, going through them several times. He then turns to look at Keith with curiosity lacing his features, “Where did you get that from?”

“My mom was the commander of a Galra ship.” He shrugs, mostly to himself, “And, I mean, this ship kinda looks like a Galra ship, so...”

“Eh, fair enough.” Lance confirms the input.

Almost as if on cue, the lights in the room flicker to red and the room itself seems to tremble. On the screen is a timer, counting down the seconds to _something_. Nothing good, from the looks of it. Just below the timer sits a digital hand scanner.

Keith doesn’t think.  He slams his hand down.

The noise ceases and the room returns to normal instantly. Lance stares at him with a mix of awe and confusion, opening his mouth to say something but then closing it instantly. He then shakes himself out of his stupor and chuckles.

“You’re a third Yarxia.”

“I’m not!” Keith’s frowns and crosses his arms.

“You say one thing, but evidence says something else.” Lance’s eyes sparkle with mischief, and his grin slowly starts looking more like smirk.

“I—the Yarxia have been an isolated species for _decafeebs_ , there’s no way I have Yarxia blood in me.”

“Again, evidence suggests otherwise.”

“I’d be orange if I was Yarxia!”

“You’re half-Galra but you’re not purple.”

Sighing, Keith shakes his head, “Whatever. We need to think of a different approach.”

Lance doesn’t even miss a beat, “We could cut the power supply directly.”

“That was…quick.” Keith flashes him the smallest of smiles, “Let’s do it.”

As soon as they exit the control room, they’re met with half a dozen security drones, all of which begin shooting as soon as they see them. Keith stabs the closest drone and flings it at two others. Behind him, Lance knocks a drone’s head off and steals its gun.

The adrenaline doesn’t stop even after they’re completely barricaded in the central hub, which is both a blessing and a curse. The stillness of the room sets Keith off, but he wills himself to calm down. _Patience yields focus_.

 “Say, Keith,” He doesn’t wait for a response, “can you read Yarxia?”

Keith glares. Lance grins.

“Seriously though, all jokes aside, can you?” He points at the energy distributor, “I don’t want a repetition of the control room.”

Undeterred, the drones bang and shoot at the door, causing it to quiver under the pressure every now and then.

“No, I can’t.” Keith purses his lips, regarding the screen carefully. There are seven different rectangles, set at different levels, all labeled in Yarxia. He slides a finger down a random one. The room darkens, but the screen’s brightness remains the same. The drones continue wreaking havoc outside. He growls, patience running paper thin, and swings his sword overhead.

“No!” Lance grasps his arm and pulls it back roughly, “Don’t you dare. This is the worst plan you’ve had so far.” 

“Well, do you have a better plan?”

“I mean, no. But your plan is just stupid.”

Keith frowns at him, “It’s our best bet. It’s not like the ship will turn into a bomb.”

“Pretty sure that’s what almost happened last time—”

The noise from outside doubles and the door rattles violently, close to its breaking point. They exchange slightly panicked looks, and Lance begrudgingly lets Keith’s arm go. The sword’s blade emits its own light as it glides towards the panel, slashing it open with very effort.

Sparks fly out in random directions, and it crackles faintly.

Then, the lights blink out, letting darkness envelop the room almost completely, the sole source of light being their helmets and Keith’s plasma sword. The ship falls dead silent and the door finally stops shaking.

“Well, that was surprisingly easy.” Lance says after a few moments, smiling brightly at Keith. He returns with a smile of his own, smaller, but just as genuine.

“Yeah,” Keith forces the door open, “let’s get out here before this ship’s commander finds us.”

Lance hums in agreement, stepping over the fallen drones carefully.

“Do you think they’ll throw a party in our honor?”

“Probably.”

+

_Location: Yarxia Battleship, Planet Yarx, Guria System, Borgha Galaxy  
Time: 14:08 AST_

Spoiler alert: they don’t get a party.

In fact, it’s the exact opposite. As it turns out, wrecking the energy distributor was a terrible move diplomatically, and the Intergalactic Relations Committee of Altea refuses to stand for that. Apparently, they still want to establish a friendly relationship with the Yarxia, despite the battle that just transpired.

Keith doesn’t understand politics, and he doubts he ever will.

If there’s any silver lining to this, it’s the fact they aren’t in this alone. Shiro has been forced to help out—something about learning to deal with the consequences of his decision. He finds the reasoning a bit odd, but he isn’t complaining. After all, brothers must stick through thick and thin.

(And Keith definitely isn’t smirking as he thinks this. Definitely not.)

They also manage to recruit the help of two Paladins, which definitely makes this whole situation easier to bear.

“Alright, I’m not sure how they got their hands on this, but this is definitely a Galra ship.” Fabek, the Red Paladin of Voltron, announces as he strolls into the room, followed closely by Shiro.

“So that means we can just grab an energy distributor from another Galra ship and replace it with this one, right? _Right_?” Lance asks sunnily, eyes sparkling at the prospect of freedom.

Fabek fixes him with an exasperated, yet fond, look, “And from where will we get a Galra energy distributor?”

“Well, I was hoping that my favorite uncle and the most amazing Red Paladin to have ever existed would give us one.” Lance nudges and bats his eyelashes, earning a loud laugh and an affectionate ruffling of his hair.

“Unfortunately, your favorite uncle and the most amazing Red Paladin to have ever existed can’t deliver. Since I never joined the _Empirical Airforce_ , I don’t really have the right to take ships whenever I want.”

“The Galra are so strict. Are you sure you’re Galra?”

“Pretty sure, yes. If you’re really that desperate you can always ask Zarkon—”

 “I’m going to stop you right there.” Tal, the Green Paladin, interrupts as she rises to her feet, levelling a glare at Fabek. He responds with a cheeky smile and wink, reminding Keith an awful lot of a certain Altean boy.

He derails that train of thought and shifts his focus entirely onto the Green Paladin.

“And it’s not necessary to go that far. Not yet, at least. You see, the energy distributor, well, distributes energy using a solid-state relay, which is a device that’s able to control the power supplied to a room or a machine. It’s kind of like a switch—it can turn it on or off. Essentially, its job is to connect—or disconnect, in our case—an electrical component from the common distribution circuit which is what manages the energy that’s supplied to the rest of the ship. If one of them is disconnected, then the power is cut off.”

She then pauses for a few moments, waiting for her words to sink in. Before anyone add something else, she continues, “Now, the problem here is that most of the components were damaged. Luckily the main circuit is fine, so all we have to do is replace the components and we’re good to go.”

It’s silent for a heartbeat.

Then, Shiro shrugs, “Alright, sounds simple enough. What will we need? I think Coran may be able to get them for free.”

Keith and Lance meet eyes, and then, “I’ll go pick them up—”

Simultaneously, they cross arms and frown at each other.

“I’ll be fast.” Keith says, not breaking eye contact.

“I’ll be faster _and_ less sloppy!” Lance retorts without missing a beat. They’re standing rather far from each other, opposite ends of the room to be precise, but Shiro decides to place himself between them.

“Neither of you is going. You two will stay here with the Green Paladin. The Red Paladin will be going instead—his lion is the fastest ship we have.”

Tal smiles deviously at the boys. Keith, unsure of what to make from that expression, stares back at her impassively. Lance, on the other hand, knows very well what she’s planning to do and looks rightfully concerned.

“You’ll have to take apart the distributor. Piece by piece.” She returns to the floor and places the required tools neatly on the ground before her, “If we’re going to fix something, we’ll fix it up good.”

He and Lance share commiserating looks.

This will be a long day.

**Author's Note:**

> -The Alden is a battleship, one of the largest they have, but still smaller than the Castle of Lions. Its main purpose is to lay down heavy fire, just like the Castle, but it's slightly more resistant.  
> -Decafeebs: Decades
> 
> Thank you very much for reading!! Please let me know what you think and if you find any mistakes!!
> 
> Also come talk to me on [tumblr](http://croniclega.tumblr.com)


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